Boris Johnson has apparently appealed to Donald Trump to help make George Osborne the next head of the International Monetary Fund.

In a phone call with the US president earlier this week, the prime minister raised the possibility of the former Conservative chancellor taking the managing director role, it is understood.

Image:Donald Trump has been speaking to Mr Johnson on the phone

Even though Mr Osborne is believed to be the UK government’s preferred choice for the job, he is unlikely to be successful as EU member states are backing Bulgarian Kristalina Georgieva.

She is currently the chief executive of the World Bank and is the front-runner to succeed Christine Lagarde at the IMF.

The Fund, which is based in Washington DC, is made up of 189 countries working to improve global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability and increase international trade, while reducing poverty.

The IMF’s managing directors have historically been European, with Americans taking the equivalent role as president of the World Bank.

Mr Johnson and Mr Osborne have similar backgrounds.

They both studied at Oxford and were members of The Bullingdon Club, an exclusive all-male dining club for the university’s undergraduates.